Last week, she got to meet Brian May from Queen, and, before that, Stevie Nicks, who praised her talent. Still, when asked what she’s learned from the experience, she doesn’t hold back.

“I didn’t know how crazy the reality show business could be, I’ll say that.”

At 28, Testone, who grew up in Kinnelon, was the oldest competitor left. She’s been among the “bottom” vote-getters more than once, however, so the elimination didn’t come as a surprise.

“I was really the one,” she says, meaning the next to go. Perhaps less of a surprise than the recent elimination of Colton Dixon, and the would-be exit of 16-year-old Jessica Sanchez, if the judges didn’t use their last “save” on her, which they did, in dramatic fashion, encircling the teen and saying how crazy it was that she’d even received so few votes. They’ve done the same for Testone in past weeks, albeit from the distance of the judges’ table.

“Things work out the way they should,” she says. The fact that there’s no more second chances doesn’t mean she’ll stop using “Idol” to her advantage. In July, she’ll set off on the “American Idol Live!” concert tour, which features the top 10 contestants, with a stop in Newark.

“During the tour I’m going to write my songs,” she says, with an eye toward putting together an album, in collaboration with some other songwriters.

The five remaining “Idol” contestants, alongside Sanchez, are Hollie Cavanagh, 18, Joshua Ledet, 19, Phillip Phillips, 21, and Skylar Laine, 18. After Testone’s elimination, Ledet texted Testone saying she was a “huge inspiration” and that they’ll all miss her, though it won’t be long before they reunite to travel the country together. Testone is also friendly with Phillips.

“We’re kind of on a similar page,” she says. Over the past two weeks, she got closer to Cavanagh, too.

“She has a deeper, more mature way of thinking about things that I didn’t realize before,” says Testone, calling the British Texan “The most adorable thing.”

Jimi Hendrix was Testone’s inspiration for her last new song, “Bold As Love.”

Michael Becker/Fox

“I felt really good about Wednesday,” she says, referring to the performance, despite the fact it wound up being her final selection. Two of the judges considered it a bad choice because much of the audience wouldn’t know the song. Looking back, she considers another strong outing to be “Vienna,” her pick for Billy Joel week.

But Testone went with Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” for her farewell, especially since it was not only a favorite of hers, but also well received by the judges and fans.

“Something I could really own,” she says, a way to go out with a bang. “People were really asking for it.” Judge Steven Tyler surprised her with an impromptu duet for at least part of the song, one that fellow judge Randy Jackson previously called “the hardest song to sing.”

Back in Kinnelon — where as a little girl she once sang at fire and police department softball games — when Testone made it to Hollywood, fans hung fliers asking everyone to vote.

“My mom has been here the whole time,” she says, with other family members alternating visits for each week of the competition.

When Testone finally left the show, “there was tears,” she says, with those close to her understandably upset about the elimination. It wasn’t long before they embraced what she calls her own perspective:

“You know what? It’s fine, it doesn’t really … change anything.”

For Testone, home is truly Charleston, S.C., where she became the singer she is now, working as a music teacher and singing at local venues. It’s down south that she first made a name for herself, even if the “Idol” stage made her a national star. She’ll head back there for a bit before the tour, and play with her dog, which she missed terribly, especially when he fell ill.

In pursuing her album, Testone says she’ll likely call on some of the big names who acted as guest mentors on the show, but not yet.

“There’s just so much going on right now,” she says. She’ll be in New York this week, then back in Los Angeles to start “Idol” rehearsals. It may be the same trajectory of others cut from the top 10, too, but Testone doesn’t seem to brood about that.

Rattling off a few cities on the schedule — Philadelphia, Atlantic City — she doesn’t sound upset, either:

“Here I come!”

On August 28, Testone will come to the Prudential Center in Newark as part of “American Idol Live!” On Sept. 7, she’ll be at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.